With the Wind
by Akheilos and Delphin Inc
Summary: Aren't you supposed to be the hero of your own story? Aren't people supposed to notice you? Aren't you supposed to get the prophesy and be favored, not your best friend and cousin. Best friend: outcast. Cousin: illegal child. You: Normal. R&R please!
1. Chapter 1

**This is the story most of you voted for on my profile, so this is what I'll be posting xD****s**

The bar where they had arranged to meet was a dingy little one, off an alleyway somewhere in New York City. Chiron, in his wheelchair disguise, frowned as he turned into the narrow street, wondering why Lux always chose such inaccessible places for them to meet. Probably to annoy him. Ugh, his fetlocks were falling asleep in that box. Maybe even to cause him pain.

He entered the shady place and was greeted by the sound of a blaringly loud football game from the TV in the corner, and the smell of smoke mixed with beer and deep-fried food. Yes, just Lux' kind of place. Not many people noticed Chiron as he steered his wheelchair towards the man looking expectantly at him, the motor purring softly.

"Reservation under 'Theta'," Chiron said, the flickering from the TV lighting the room for split seconds at a time. The man frowned, looked down at a piece of paper, looked to a corner with an empty table, back at the paper, and finally back at Chiron.

"Sorry, Sir, but the young man has left already. He did, however, leave this for a person who asked for the reservation, so I guess that's you. Would you still like a seat?" Chiron smiled slightly and nodded, taking the carefully wrapped package from the man and followed him to the empty table, where the man removed a chair so that Chiron's wheelchair would fit. "Someone will be with you in a few." Chiron simply nodded him away, his hands almost shaking from wanting to open the package.

The blue leather wrapped around the small book was beautiful, with soft patterns in it, almost invisible to the naked eye, and as much as Chiron would have wondered where it came from and how Lux got the money for it, he just gently laid it aside, thinking he'd get back to it later. On top of leather bound book that might change Chiron's life was a folded sheet of yellowed paper, presumably torn out of the book.

"Hello, Sir, my name is Diane and I will be taking your orders this evening. The daily special is…" the waitress trailed off as Chiron raised his hand gently, silencing her.

"An espresso will do," he said, his voice unnaturally hard. Diane nodded and scurried off glancing worriedly behind her before she entered the kitchen, only to see Chiron already deeply absorbed in a piece of paper. Strange man, she thought.

Chiron's vision wasn't the best in the dim bar, and he had to squint to make out Lux' handwriting. The fact that Lux didn't really know how to write probably didn't help Chiron at all, he thought.

_Chiron,_

_I am not sorry I didn't wait for you. You are an old man, or should I say, you are an old centaur, and I am a young man. Boy. Teenager. Whatever, you know? I don't exactly care any more._

_Riley and I are not coming back- we're going to look for Jet and Danni. We don't care that he's half Titan and she's a forbidden child. Riley feels he is treated like just another demigod and he deserves something more. I feel the same. I never was officially claimed, was I?_

_At least Riley was claimed. Come on, man, he was part of the quest! He's important, Chiron! And you know why we didn't tell you when Shawn died? We didn't think you'd care. I mean, who'd care about an average son of Aphrodite who died on a quest? Would anyone care if Riley died? Would anyone care if I died? Probably not- that's the truth and you know it. And that's just because we're _normal_._

_No, but you'd care if Jet or Danni died, because Jet is an outcast and Danni is illegal. We're searching for them. And we're not coming back. This book is written by Riley and me, and maybe, just maybe, after reading it, you'll understand why we were important too._

_We hate you and have no intentions of seeing you or your fucked up camp ever again._

_-Lux Θ _

Chiron sighed audibly and leaned back, closing his eyes, trying to picture it: the two boys, a brunette and a blond, sitting through the quest, feeling jealous of their best friends and writing a book that would haunt him.

"Oh Lux, Riley, what have you two done," Chiron asked the air above him quietly, surprised at how pained his voice sounded at the mention of those names. "What are you going to do?"

Chiron sighed gulped down the espresso, knowing he'd need caffeine to get through the book. Then, as if it were fragile, he gently picked up the book, turning the hard cover to reveal a photo wedged between it and the first page. He pulled it out, and four teenaged faces smiled up at him; four teenaged demigods who now hated his guts.

The boy on the left was taller than the rest- a handsome boy with tanned skin and black hair swept across his face, like so many girls found attractive these days. He had strong and well defined features, and his dark eyes twinkled as he was showing one of his rare smiles. Jet. Jet Marten.

Jet's arm was slung casually around the shoulders of the girl who was standing next to him- Dana Laris, or, like she preferred to be called, Danni, and who was also Jet's girlfriend. She had her dark brown hair up in a messy bun, and her eyes were drifting halfway between the camera and Jet, as if she were just turning to look at him when the photo was taken. She was smiling- she liked to smile, a lot.

Next to Danni was her cousin, a boy named Riley Lennarts. He had dirty blond windswept hair that was probably longer than it looked, and his signature grin plastered on his face. He had piercing blue eyes that were always focused, and then was no exception. A small crescent shaped scar curved up his left cheek, something Chiron would never forget.

The last boy on the picture wasn't smiling so much. It was more of a smirk, with his eyebrows raised slightly in a 'seriously?' type of expression. His dark brown hair was the same length as the last time Chiron had seen him- slightly wavy down to the base of his neck, brushed forwards, some hanging loosely in his face. His left ear still had the little golden stud in it, of which Chiron did not know the meaning. But his cold gray eyes weren't smiling. The metallic edge they usually had to them was there, and even from the picture, Chiron shivered slightly.

He placed the photo back in the book and closed it, looking around at the now almost empty bar. The game was over, and only a few people remained, most of which were either talking animatedly to someone next to them or were drunk. Chiron shook his head at the sight of the carefree people here- people who had the time to drink.

He paid for the espresso and left a tip under the plate- he wanted to get out of that bar. Wrapping the book and the note gently in the blue leather again, he stuffed it under the seat of his wheelchair where a tiny compartment that usually contained ambrosia and nectar lay hidden.

As if in a trance, he drove out of the bar and down the alley again, to the shuttle bus where Argus and Percy would be waiting. Their drive back to camp was silent, more silent than usual. Percy's eyes were narrowed as he watched Chiron, and Chiron stared blankly out the window at the passing countryside, a grey sheet of rain sweeping across the semi-darkness.

Back at camp, where there was no rain and no dull or depressed mood, Chiron dismissed Percy and Argus, thanking them for accompanying him, but his mind was desperate to read the book, to find out what really happened- why and how Shawn died, when the picture had been taken, and why exactly the four teenagers hated him.

Getting out of his wheelchair Chiron stretched his legs and trotted over to the Big House, going in his room and locking the door. Then, he got out the book, opened the cover once more, and began to read.

**What did ya think? Review!**


	2. Chapter 2

**Please note that these chapters will be shorter than in my other stories and even more info****rmal, after all, this is two teenaged boys writing a book for Chiron so that he knew what happened, not what they felt. **

**Also, review, yes? This seemed to be a popular idea on my profile, so I'd expect some more….**

RILEY

I guess it started with the call, when I was ten. It was one of those moments when you know you shouldn't do something but you do it anyway. I did it. I picked up the phone. Pressed the little green button to turn off the annoying tune and held it to my ear.

"Riley Lennarts," I said casually.

"Ri?" I recognized the voice! It was my aunt Cat from the States. What on earth was she doing calling me on my cell phone at three in the afternoon from the States to England?

"Hey, Cat, what's up?" I hated to admit it, but whenever I talked to my American relatives, my American accent was back. It was a weird situation- the girls in England absolutely digged my American accent, while the girls over there considered my British accent 'hot.'

"Ri, oh Ri, it's horrible," Cat said through chocked sobs.

"Cat, what the hell is going on?" I asked, my voice panicky, my mind assuming the worst.

"She's dead, Ri. Dead. Car crash. They couldn't save her. She's dead. Dead…" I knew who she was talking about. I knew three hours earlier when I had felt an odd sensation but brushed it off. But now I had confirmation. I sunk to the ground, feeling the tears building up in my eyes. Dead….

"H-how, when, who, what, where, Cat, how could this happen? She's your younger sister for god's sake! How could you let this happen to her?" I shouted into the phone, my voice cracking from the tears in the back of my throat. Cat was silent, but I heard another round of sobs from the other hand, and when I heard a voice again, it was Cat's brother- my uncle- Gavin.

"Riley? Riley, listen to me man, I'm sorry. Really, I am, but you cannot blame this on Cat. Look, your mom was driving home from a… party. She was slightly intoxicated, and I guess she didn't see the car next to her." I felt like throwing up. I took the phone away from my ear and threw it as hard as I could against the wall of my dorm room, the last sound being Gavin's panicked voice saying then shouting "Riley? Riley!"

That was when I started crying my eyes out. I leaned my head on my drawn up knees and sobbed loudly, not caring if anyone heard. I sat like that for god knows how long, but after a bit, the anger started taking over me. Tears still streaming down my face, I stood up and started punching and kicking everything within reach.

The next few hours passed in a blur. At some point, the door opened- I guess it was my roommate, Dylan, but I didn't pay attention. I guess I was a pretty frightening sight- a ten year old guy, who probably looked too old for his age, demolishing his room, crying. I think he called Nina, our best friend, because a few minutes later I felt petite arms wrap around my waist, holding me steady.

I fell to the ground again and Nina held me, and I only repeated the same thing: "Dead. She's dead. Gone, gone, gone."

Later that week I packed my bags and flew back to the States, where I'd be living with Gavin and his daughter, my next in kin. I never had a father, but I hoped he'd have the decency to appear to mom's funeral.

Two days after I arrived, the funeral was held. I really didn't want to attend, but Gavin made me. I planned on wearing a suit, like everyone else would, but I couldn't get out of the clothes that had been mom's favourite- a dark red t-shirt, grey jeans and Nikes. It was windy outside, so I at least put on the suit jacket, hoping it'd keep me warm.

Surprisingly, the wind wasn't too bad. It felt almost good, calming, and it brushed the tears away. I felt kind of cool, putting on my sunglasses and stepping out of the car at the funeral, feeling all official-y. The wind enveloped me, forming a sort of protective layer that was only broken by me holding Danni's, my cousin's, hand. I didn't shed a single tear.

LUX

My eyes swept over the huge dumpster as I searched for someone. There were small fires everywhere and people huddled around them, but I tended to stay to the left, where my familiars were. Finally, my eyes zoomed in on a pretty central fire with just one guy sitting by it.

I made my way towards him, breathing in through the cigarette in my mouth and exhaling smoke, trying to calm myself with the rhythm. Then again, I wondered what I was calming myself for.

Theo looked up as I stopped next to him, with his big eyes and raised eyebrows, almost pleadingly. I shrugged and held out a cigarette. He stood up, grimaced, but took it, putting it in his mouth and lighting it with the fire in front of him.

"So," he started, his voice scratchy from the smoke. Damn, that kid needs to get over the effects.

"So what? What you going to give us, kid?" I could feel Theo glare at me, but I just stared back, my look bored and unreadable. Theo sighed.

"I can get you shelter."

"We got shelter."

"I can get you money."

"I do like money. How much?"

"I can hack ATM machines."

I nodded, but said nothing, looking at him expectantly. He shrugged again.

"I can get you weapons. Fake IDs. Computer shit. Anything I can hack."

I nodded again- the weapons aspect had sparked my interest.

"What kind of weapons?"

"Oh, anything really. Knives, guns, bow and arrow, anything."

"Ninja stars?"

"Sure."

"Okay, and what do you want for this?"

Theo turned to me and opened his mouth, revealing two rows of teeth wired shut. Braces. Oh great, that wasn't going to be easy. But I made sure to keep my cool face.

"I want these out. And I want a place to stay. Protection, you know?"

I nodded. "I'll talk to them about it. Stay here," I commanded, making my way leisurely across the dumpster until I reached another fire, on the far left, where three people sat around, smoking and drinking. One of them looked up as he saw me coming and grinned at me.

"Yo Lux, what the man want?" he slurred slightly, holding out a bottle to me. I was tempted, but I'd need to be sober when I made the deal with Theo.

"Is Victor not, like, completely wasted?" I asked, trying not to get my hopes up. The guy who had offered me the drink, Tom, looked over to a crumpled figure lying on an old mattress, his head surrounded in a halo of his own puke. Gross. I guess Victor was out of the question. "Err… how about Luka?"

"Someone say my name?" another voice said from behind me, and I turned around to see Luka standing there, slightly swaying, but still pretty steady on his feet.

"Yeah, need a service, man."

"You need a _service_?" Luka wiggled his eyebrows suggestively and I mentally face-palmed.

"No, idiot, kid over there. Needs his wires out. Can you do that or do I need to wake up Vic?"

Luka glanced uncomfortably at Victor's sleeping body and shook his head. "Nah, I'm cool. What do I get in return?"

"Weapon, money, fake ID. Ask the kid." Luka nodded and followed me as I started walking towards Theo again. He looked at us hopefully and I nodded my head towards Luka, who smiled at Theo.

"You want those wires out? Follow _moi_."

I grinned and inhaled deeply through my cigarette again, looking up to the stars, but then remembering that that was New York City and there were no stars. Shame, I thought. When I was on the run from California, there had been stars. But there, at the dumpster, I was warm. At least, until the sun went down.

About an hour after sundown, it got really cold, and Tom, Victor (who had woken up but was completely wasted again), and the other guys- Van and Trig, and I were sitting around our fire, talking, laughing and belching. Trig and I didn't drink, but we did amuse ourselves with blowing smoke into other people's faces and making patterns in the air.

By about three in the morning, Van, Tom and Victor were passed out and only Trig and I remained sitting, Trig, as usual, suffering from his insomnia, and me awaiting Theo and Luka's return.

About half an hour later, I saw the two guys, coming from a building on the side, Theo clutching his mouth as if he had broken his jaw. I smirked at the gleeful look Luka gave me- the cursed little sadist.

"You jus' 'ad to torture 'im di'n't'cha?" Trig grinned at him and he nodded and smiled, sitting down next to us and grabbing a half empty bottle of some white liquid. He and Trig immediately engaged in some deep conversation about cheese, and I beckoned Theo to come sit with me.

"How'd it go?" I asked, scanning his face for emotion.

He grunted and opened his mouth, showing me a row of bloody but brace-free teeth. I nodded- Luka was getting better and better at Victor's job. But Theo's teeth were actually the least of my worries right now.

"Well, here's the deal, kid. I've talked to these guys, and they're willing to give you shelter as long as you can supply them with money, weapons and fake IDs, and they might occasionally- every evening- send you for booze run, until they've got a new kid. In return, what I want from you is a driver's liscence saying I'm seventeen, a switchblade knife- preferably serrated-, and a couple hundred bucks, say, a thousand, in cash. You think you can do that? For a name, just put down, oh, I don't know, Zack Hunter, okay?"

Theo nodded and got up, walking into the darkness. Hmm, I thought. I liked the kid. He was quiet and did what we wanted. Good kid. I turned back to Trig- Luka just fell backwards and started snoring- and smirked at him. "I'm getting' out."

Trig rolled his eyes. "Yeah, for the fifth time. Face it man, I'm your only reliable source a' ciggies 'round here." I shrugged and turned away from him, facing the fire again. Damn, it was cold.

"I guess. I gotta stop, I mean. I think I'm heddin' east. Long Island maybe. Maybe I'll find a job. Who knows, ya know?" It sounded like a fairly good plan. But still, I'd miss the dumpster, the fires, the guys and getting so wasted every other night that I thought there were stars above me. Trig simply snorted.

"Whatev', man. See ya in the morning." With that, he lay down on a mattress with metal springs sticking out the sides and promptly passed out- I guess the booze he had shared with Luka had gotten the better of him. I shrugged and also lay back, looking at the sky.

'Bout half an hour later, Theo tapped my shoulder and handed me simple black messenger bag with some weird white logo on the front. I took it and turned it upside down, dumping the contents on a piece of wood in front of me. Several wads of cash, a driver's licence, a lighter, a box of cigarettes and a switchblade fell out. I nodded and looked up at Theo, beckoning him to sit down.

"Good job, kid. Licence looks real enough. Looks like I got one grand here, and the switchblade isn't too bad." I looked at him. "Well, I'm leavin', kid, so take care of yourself, 'kay? Don't do anything… stupid. 'Specially not 'round these guys" I jerked my head towards my passed out friends. I put all the things back in the bag and slung it over my shoulder, stood up and brushed the dirt off my clothes. Well, scratch that. I brushed it off my pants. I have this sweater that has been with me ever since I can remember and it somehow never gets dirty.

As I was walking away, I heard a soft shout after me: "Hey Lux! Can… can I have a cigarette?" I turned and smirked at Theo, whose face was red- I could see it even in the darkness.

"I've got you well trained, kid," I said, throwing him the pack of cigarettes he'd gotten me. "Keep 'em. Don't think the cops will be happy if they catch me with 'em."

And with that, I turned my back again and disappeared into the shadows of the dumpster, the smell of smoke clinging to me.

*Finish of Chapter*

Chiron found his eyebrows slightly raised at Riley's story. Riley's father was making it way too obvious, he thought, but that was just his opinion.

What really had startled him though was the beginning of Lux' story. He knew Lux was a somewhat shady character from a poor area, but from a dumpster in Manhattan? No wonder he had those weird (bad) habits. No wonder he had gotten along with Mr. D when they were gambling.

Lux' sweater interested Chiron, to say the least. He knew what it looked like- a dark red hoodie with a black lining, always zipped to the top with the **Θ** symbol on the zipper. He guessed it was a present from Lux' godly parent, whoever that was (obviously, from the note, Lux knew, but hadn't told Chiron, which Chiron found infuriating to put it mildly), had given it to him.

Chiron looked at the sky outside and found the moon already high in it. Time to put his tail in curlers and go to sleep, he thought, but the lingering sense of adventure left from the first chapter had caught him, and his fingers itched to open the book and read further the next day.

**Well? Reviews please! They make me very happy!**


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